I've been listing the Player of the Week awards each week in the news section, and then noting how close the actual awards come to selecting the right players, according to NBAPET. True, it's hubris to refer to these as being "right" but in this case I'll commit that sin because the POW honor means nothing and is quickly forgotten by all. It's just a chance to take a snapshot of who played well last week. So let's do that real quick, with a look at last week's GR leaders for players that played in two or more games.

Given he usual slobbering over scoring average, it's fairly amazing that Durant was overlooked. Anyway, I didn't place the POW item in the lede because I wanted to debate it. Instead I wanted to use the occasion to note something that I feel has become suddenly lost: LeBron James is the best player in the league.

In the early chatter for this year's MVP award, James' name has been seldom mentioned. Perhaps that's part of the backlash from James' defection from Cleveland over the summer, but let's not lose track of what he does on the basketball court. Despite having to share the spotlight in Miami, James still leads the NBA in WP82 with 32.4. That is almost exactly the same as James' totals from the last three years: 32.0, 33.9, 32.3. So despite everything that's happened on and off the court, James is still doing more to help win basketball games than any other player in the league. I still think Deron Williams can challenge James for the award. In fact, I suspect there is little chance that James will actually win this year's MVP trophy. Nevertheless, it's pretty clear to me that even in his new situation in Miami, James is still head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA.

1. The List: Duke Starts No. 1 (John Perrotto) Basketball Prospectus' rankings, which are subjective but based on statistical analysis, debut with a familiar team at the top--the Duke Blue Devils. (premium)

7. St. John's: Back From the Brink? (Asher Fusco) After a disastrous loss at Fordham, Steve Lavin's team recovered nicely, beating Northwestern Tuesday night and winning the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. (premium)

9. Poll Position: No Turner, No Problem (John Gasaway) Replacing a national player of the year isn't supposed to be as easy as Ohio State's making it look. So in his feature for ESPN Insider, John considers the unthinkable. Is Jared Sullinger the best freshman Thad Matta's ever had? (premium)

Our downloadable Basketball Fantasy Projection spreadsheets are available for anyone with a premium subscription to Basketball Prospectus. The sheet is updated weekly and can be found on your 'Manage Profile' page. The download includes a forecast for the seven days, Monday through Sunday, for every player, game-by-game projections, health status updates and current team rotations.

CAVALIERS: "The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived forward Jawad Williams, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Williams averaged 4.0 points on.325 shooting and 1.8 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game in 26 games (one start) this season. In three seasons (all with the Cavaliers), he had career averages of 3.8 points on .369 shooting and 1.5 rebounds in 90 games (seven starts). The Cavaliers roster now stands at 14." (press release)

CAVALIERS: "The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned forward Samardo Samuels to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Samuels has played in four games for the Cavaliers this season and has averages of 3.3 points on .571 shooting and 1.0 rebound in 4.5 minutes per game." (press release)

HAWKS: "The Atlanta Hawks today assigned rookie guard/forward Pape Sy (POP SEE) to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. Sy was the Hawks' second round pick (53rd overall selection) in the 2010 NBA Draft. He missed the first 18 games of the season due to a low back injury, and has been on the inactive list in the remainder of the games this year. Sy appeared in two games for Atlanta's summer league squad in Las Vegas, averaging 4.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg and 1.0 apg. He signed with the Hawks on September 15, 2010." (press release)

LAKERS: "The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned forward Devin Ebanks to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Ebanks, who was selected by the Lakers with the 43rd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has appeared in 12 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.4 minutes." (press release)

RAPTORS: "The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday they have re-signed forward Ronald Dupree. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. Dupree, 6-foot-7, 210 pounds participated in Toronto's 2010 training camp before he was released October 19. He appeared in five preseason games, totaling 20 points and eight rebounds in 55 minutes." (press release)

GLOSSARY+/- (Plus-Minus) Raw data is from official box scores from NBA.com.GR (Game Rating) Reflects a player's Points Created total, or the portion of his team's offense for which he gets credit based on his box score line. This number is then adjusted for estimated defensive performance based on box score counterpart productivity. GR is pace-adjusted so you can compare players from game to game.PCP (Points Created Per Possession Used) An estimate of each player's points created per possession used, a measure of offensive efficiency. The stat accounts for a player's entire box score line, not just the scoring categories.PLY% (Play percentage) An estimate of the percentage of a team's possessions on which the player was on the court.USG An estimate of how many of those plays a player used by shooting, going to the line or committing a turnover, with a portion the team's offensive rebound total subtracted.TEAM STATS
PACE: Estimated possessions in the game.
ORTG: A team's points per 100 possessions.
eFG%: Team's shooting percentage with an extra half-point added for each made three-point field goal.
oRB%: Percentage of a team's misses that they retrieved off the offensive glass.
TO%: Percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a turnover.
FTA%: Percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a trip to the foul line.